Life Plans on Dive Bar Napkins

Kidnapped in the most expensive taxi in Mexico. Living like Frank Sinatra with a UTI in Palm Springs. Avoiding exploding rubbish bins in new Tokyo. Sleeping with man-eating spiders in Guatemala.

For better or (usually) worse, major life decisions start as a scribble on the back of a bar napkin for Paul Manser – a writer whose existence is mostly made up of stupid choices and wildly ambitious travel insurance claims.

Life Plans on Dive Bar Napkins is a book of experiences Paul always wanted to get into print, but worried that some tut-tutting travel editor would strip of all the best jokes. You could say that the book is an unnecessary act of self-indulgence by an egotist who shirks life’s responsibilities, drinks too much and thinks too little. And you’d probably be right.

Paul wrote this book for the people who want to experience something different, who drink because they enjoy it, and whose life plans begin as incoherent scrawls on the back of a dive bar napkin.

About the Author

Paul Manser is a Melbourne-based travel writer who has been published in newspapers including The Australian, The Courier Mail, MX and The Sunday Telegraph, as well as by international media titles and travel brands such as MTV, Hearth, International Traveller, and G Adventures.

Away from writing, Paul is the personal manservant to a grumpy 11-year-old sausage dog named Bruno. He has also started four businesses, the majority of which have not resulted in being chased down the street by a reporter from A Current Affair.

Today, you can often find Paul with bags under his eyes, scrolling through his phone looking for international flight sales as his young children test the boundaries of physical and personal safety on playground equipment in Melbourne’s inner-west.